Attorney General's News Release
March 11, 2008
Nixon sues Internet services provider for failure to issue promised refunds, unauthorized charging of credit cards
Forsyth, Mo. — An Internet service provider in southwest Missouri that didn’t provide refunds to customers and made unauthorized withdrawals for service it didn’t provide is the target of a lawsuit filed Monday (March 10) by Attorney General Jay Nixon. Nixon filed the lawsuit against Eminent Network Techologies Inc. of Branson, which does business as Interlinc.net, in Taney County Circuit Court, seeking injunctive relief, restitution for consumers and appropriate civil penalties.
According to Nixon, Interlinc.net has been engaged in the advertisement and sale of Internet service to consumers in southwestern Missouri since at least November 2002. The Attorney General’s Office has received more than two dozen complaints from consumers that the company misrepresented that their payments would be refunded when Internet access went down for extended periods, but then failed to refund the money; and charged at least one consumer’s credit card for services without consent.
One consumer who complained to the Attorney General’s Office canceled his service after he had been an Interlinc subscriber for a year. After the man canceled his service, his credit card was still billed for the upcoming year by Interlinc. After he disputed the charge and the credit card company removed it, the man’s credit card was again charged for a year of service by Interlinc without his authorization one year later.
Another couple in Rockville, located in Bates County, prepaid the defendant for three months of Internet service, but lost access halfway through that time due to Interlinc’s dispute with the local telephone company. Despite being without service they had already paid for for a month and a half, the couple has never had their payments refunded by Interlinc.
Nixon’s lawsuit is requesting that the court issue an injunction against Interlinc to prevent future violations of state consumer protection laws and order the defendant to pay restitution to consumers and appropriate civil penalties.
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